Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 adopted a shorter and wider design this year, and Apple’s iPhone Duo sports a similar book-style foldable form. After years of tall foldables, recent launches have been defined by wider designs. Xiaomi also jumped on this bandwagon with its new Xiaomi 18 Fold.
But another Chinese brand, Vivo, adheres to the higher traditions. The Vivo X Fold 6 is officially going global, about three months after making its debut in China. It keeps the familiar proportions of Vivo’s previous foldables, including a 6.51-inch cover display with a tall 20.31:9 aspect ratio that unfolds into an almost square 8.02-inch inner screen.
Vivo remains large
Unlike the Z Fold 8 and iPhone Duo, Vivo sticks much closer to the shape that book-style foldables have used for years. So you get the tall device, rather than the much shorter and wider folding bar that made headlines. You can feel the Vivo falling behind until you actually look at the spec sheet.
Both X Fold6 screens use LTPO technology with adaptive 1Hz to 120Hz refresh rates and up to 5,000 nits local peak brightness. The Prism Black model measures just 4.4 mm unfolded and 9.4 mm folded, while weighing 228 grams. This is pretty light for its form factor, and that doesn’t even include one of its most impressive aspects, the battery. In this slim body, Vivo has managed to pack a gigantic 6,900mAh silicon-anode battery that supports 80W wired and 40W wireless charging, despite the slim body. A customized MediaTek Dimensity 9500 Super Edition handles the performance, which brings the performance of the flagship level, even if it is not the latest chip.
Which I’m really looking forward to
Samsung undoubtedly makes some of the best foldable phones out there. From the software to the hardware polish, the Galaxy Z lineup is pretty mature. Still, I’d happily give the crown for the best cameras on a foldable Vivo. I tried the Vivo X Fold 5 last year, and the cameras were absolutely stunning. And with the cameras getting an upgrade, I can imagine that experience getting even better this year.
The main camera uses a 200MP 1/1.4 inch Samsung HPB sensor with OIS and Zeiss T* coating. It comes with a 50MP ultra-wide and a 50MP 3x periscope telephoto capable of macro photography, plus 20MP cameras on both displays.
OriginOS 7 Fold also lends itself to the enormous internal display, with an Origin Workbench capable of displaying a primary app alongside four smaller windows, plus four-way split-screen multitasking and cross-app drag-and-drop. Unfortunately, Vivo has yet to announce global pricing or detailed availability, saying that these details depend on individual markets.